March 9 election: Ethnic Communities endorse Ganduje

Ahead of the forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly elections, Ethnic Community Leaders Association Kano (ECLAK), have endorsed Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s reelection bid. This is contained in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kano by President ECLAK, Dr Jimpat Ayelsngbe and Chief Augustine Tarasi Colly, the Ovie -Obi 1, Kano Delta Community for Traditional leaders.

According to the statement, the decision to support Ganduje was taken during a joint meeting of the leaders held at the Eze Ndigbo’s Palace in Kano.

It called on Igbos, Yorubas and other non indigenes resident in the state to come out en-mass to vote for the incumbent governor during Saturday’s governorship election.

“Dr Ganduje deserves a second term in view of his contributions to peaceful coexistence and developmental programmes in Sabon-Gari.

“It is good to praise the goose that lays a golden egg, “the statement said.

According to the statement, the leaders during the meeting recalled the provision of health care facilities and ‘ repair of roads in the area, abandoned by previous administration.

“In addition, for the past four years under his regime, no single riot or violence was recorded and which came about as a result of multi –religious annual conference.

“We hereby resolve to consolidate by subsuming our individual political differences to support him with our massive votes as a way of reducing rancour, creating conductive environment for good governance and enterprise through empowerment of Sabon-Gari residents,” it added.

“He must be supported for peaceful united Nigeria and continuity of good governance, “the statement said. MTM/MZA

“This virus is exposing endemic inequalities that have too long been ignored. In the United States, protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd are highlighting not only police violence against people of colour, but also inequalities in health, education, employment and endemic racial discrimination,” the UN human rights chief said in a press release issued Tuesday.

“It is a tragedy that it took COVID-19 to expose what should have been obvious, that unequal access to healthcare, overcrowded housing and pervasive discrimination make our societies less stable, secure and prosperous,” she added.

People from racial and ethnic minorities are also found in higher numbers in some jobs that carry increased risk, including in the transport, health and cleaning sectors, she said.

“The fight against this pandemic cannot be won if Governments refuse to acknowledge the blatant inequalities that the virus is bringing to the fore,” she said, adding that the efforts to tackle COVID-19 and to begin the recovery process will only be successful when “everyone’s rights to life and health are protected without discrimination”.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff in London will have access to risk assessments after reports showing they have a higher risk of being affected by COVID-19, Mayor Sadiq Khan announced Monday.

“This pandemic must be a wake-up call to our country and we need the Government to show their commitment to tackling these great injustices and immediately commission an independent public inquiry that will properly address this issue,” he added.

City Hall published Monday a new research to further understand this disproportionate impact, comparing coronavirus cases in London to a range of measures including ethnicity, job security, poverty, deprivation, age and a range of health conditions.

The study from City Hall’s Intelligence Unit shows the highest COVID-19 death rate in London is an area of Newham, where 82 percent of the population are BAME, one in three is in insecure employment and there are high levels of deprivation, obesity and diabetes.

At least 80 people killed during ethnic clashes in South Sudan

At least 80 people were killed during ethnic clashes in the volatile nation of South Sudan, an official said on Monday.

At least 50 others were wounded when heavily armed men from the Murle ethnic group attacked six villages in Uror county in Jonglei state on Saturday, county commissioner John Dak Gatluak said.

The death toll was likely to rise, as the search continued for missing villagers who had fled into the bush to escape the attackers who were armed with rocket launchers and machine guns, the commissioner said.

Relocated from inhospitable mountainous areas, people of the ethnic minority of Yao move into new houses and embrace better lives in southwest China‘s Guizhou Province. Guizhou is one of China‘s least developed provinces and is at the forefront of China‘s campaign to eradicate absolute poverty in 2020. Statistics show that Guizhou relocated 1.88 million people from inhospitable areas in 2019.

The Myanmar government has formed a coordination and cooperation committee to work with ethnic armed groups in the fight against COVID-19, said an order issued by the President’s Office on Tuesday.

The presidential order stressed that the government has been making strenuous efforts to adopt measures of prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 without any discrimination on racial and religious grounds, based on a “No one left behind policy”.

Chaired by Dr. Tin Myo Win, vice chairman of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center, the four-member committee was formed with an aim to make the measures effective concerning prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 in the areas where ethnic armed groups are residing, the order said.

The committee is assigned to exchange information related to COVID-19 and boost cooperation in monitoring returnees through the border gate, transferring patients if there are suspected COVID-19 cases and tracing contacts, among others.

The committee will conduct coordination and cooperation among ethnic armed groups, regional and state governments in the fight against the epidemic. (XINHUA)

Croatia’s state leadership and heads of ethnic minority groups gathered on Wednesday at the memorial center in Jasenovac, 120 km southeast of Zagreb, to honor victims of the World War II concentration camp.

It’s the first time since 2015 that representatives of Croatia’s Serbian, Roma and Jewish communities, who were victims in the Jasenovac concentration camp, took part in a joint commemoration with the state leadership.

No speech was made on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the breakout of inmates from Jasenovac.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, after laying wreaths, told reporters that this is the fourth time he came to Jasenovac, which shows the government’s continuous reverence to the victims.

“The policy we are pursuing is based on a clear condemnation of the crime, on the pity towards the victims, on nurturing a culture of memory, and on the continued and dedicated work on understanding and tolerance in society,” Plenkovic said.

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic told reporters: “We came here to send a message because this is one of the worst places from World War II.”

The Jasenovac concentration camp was run by the wartime Croatian fascist Ustase regime.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the breakout of inmates from the camp on April 22, 1945. Of the 1,073 inmates who were in the camp that day, some 600 attempted to escape, and only about 100 survived.

The camp was opened in August 1941 and operated until April 1945. According to the Jasenovac Memorial Site, the number of victims in the concentration camp is estimated between 80,000 and 100,000. (XINHUA)

Easter: Lawmaker calls for end to ethnic clashes in Kaduna

Mr Yusuf Mugu, the lawmaker representing Kaura constituency in the Kaduna State House of Assembly has admonished his constituents to leverage on the Easter season to pray for an end to ethnic clashes in the state.

Mr Mugu, who made the call in an interview with the Nigeria News Agency on Saturday in Kaduna, said the incessant famer/herders clashes must stop to enthrone peace.

He said the Easter period provided the right window for aggrieved parties to sheath their swords and allow peace to reign in their communities.

“There has been prolonged clashes between famers and herders, which if not checked, will not favour either parties.

“The clashes has caused disaffection among the communities, particularly the Attakar and Moro’a communities. We must realise we are our brother’s keepers and that’s what our faith teaches.

“I wish to use the Easter period to call on members of my constituency to take a leaf from the exemplary lifestyle of Jesus Christ, who forgave His tormentors and gave His life for all,” he said.

According to the legislator, while the entire world seeks for solution to the ravaging COVID-19pandemic, the people should see the need to safeguard their lives rather than engage in communal issues that divide them.

He stressed that it was more worrisome when people lived in fear of being attacked or organise reprisal attacks instead of being conscious of the COVID-19pandemic and the need to take precautionary measures.

Mugu prayed for a hitch-free Easter celebration and urged the people to remain vigilant and refrain from any form of criminality.

Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Right Abuse (YIAVHA), a Non Governmental Organisation has organised a workshop to sensitise youths, secondary school students in Plateau on inter-ethnic cooperation and non-violent political participation.

Speaking at the event on Tuesday in Jos, the Acting Executive Director of the organisation, Mr Jacob Pwakim, said the project is being supported by Local Action Fund.

According to him, the exercise was aimed at promoting pluralism in the society, inter-ethnic harmony and violent-free political participation.